Wanzers
Front Mission uses giant mechs called Wanzers (from the German "Wanderpanzer", or "walking tanks") as its main battle units, although tanks, hellicopters, aircraft and other real world weapons had also been seen being used in battles throughout the series. History For many years, men had labored in research labs to improve machine designs, ultimately attempting to bring them closer to human beings in form. Robotic science was a rapidly-growing field in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but a consistent problem was their mobility and the fact that they moved in a rather ungainly fashion. However, in the year 2020, the same year as the formation of the United Continental State (U.C.S.), Dr. Landolt and Schnecke Corp. invented and perfected a new actuator. This was a significant accomplishment, as it would enable the creation of machines “that can move like human beings.” They continued their research, and in 2025, they completed the first of these machines, called the “wanderwagen” (from the German wander, to walk and wagen, car or carriage), and abbreviated as WAW. The following year, impressed by Schnecke Corp.’s results, U.C.S. arms maker Diable Avionics joined with the company to further develop WAW technology. In 2027, tests are completed on a WAW designed to deal with the detonation and removal of land mines. While it was a successful project with great potential, the U.C.S. military conceded that the technology is still far too expensive for practical use. To help lower development costs, Schnecke Corp. and Diable proposed a standardized platform for WAW technology. Released worldwide in 2029, the MULS (Multi Unit Link System) is a joint effort by Schnecke Corp., Diable, the European Commonwealth’s (E.C.) Sender Corporation, and the Oceania Community Union’s Oceania Community Union(O.C.U.). Jade-metal Corporation. It represented a worldwide collaboration involving many of the major world powers. That same year, the first mass-produced WAW, codenamed "Cicada", is completed. The U.C.S. army purchased 97 of these machines, and the E.C.’s German army ordered 15 of them. Meanwhile, political strife in Africa led to the beginning of the African Conflict in 2034. Squadrons of O.C.U. WAWs were deployed to the battlefield in Africa. This is the first time the technology had been used in a combat situation; they proved to be very effective. Research and development began focusing on making WAWs more suitable for military operations. It took several years, but in 2040, Schnecke Corp. and Diable released a new WAW standard tailored for military applications. Considerably cheaper and more powerful than before, the new MULS-P machines soon became a large part of militaries around the world. To distinguish them from normal WAWs, those made for military use were dubbed “wanderpanzers” (from the German for “walking armor”), or “wanzers” for short. And thus the wanzer as a weapon of war is born. From this point forward, the wanzer became a standard piece of wartime machinery, appearing often in international skirmishes. When the First Huffman Conflict began in 2070, squads of wanzers were deployed to fight in the battles. And as the wanzer continued to prove its worth on the battlefield, research and development continued at a brisk pace, to further advances in wanzer technology and build better, more powerful models. In the current political climate, it is best, after all, to always be prepared for an attack. Game Mechanics Wan zers differ from other combat units in that it has four modular parts: body, left arm, right arm, and legs. Each part serves a specific function and has its own health bar. Body keeps a wanzer operating and thus upon its destruction, the wanzer would no longer be able to battle. Arms are mostly equipped with weapons (Although some wanzers in Front Mission 2 had bodies equipped with weapons). If an arm are destroyed, the weapons equipped on it will not be usable. Legs enable movement and evasion and if destroyed, evasion function will be lost, and movement will be largely impaired. In Front Mission First, leg destruction cause mobility to decrease (the square of movments will be halved). In all other main series installments, leg destruction will disable any unit from moving beyond one square each turn. A wanzer can continue the battle even if its arms or legs are destroyed, but its performance will be severely impaired. Sometimes destroying the enemies' arms or legs first are preferrable because body usually has higher HP than other parts. The back of Body can be equipped with backpacks, which has various functions such as emergency repair or holding items. Each arm has two slots for weapons: Shoulder and Hand (known as "Grip" in Front Mission First). The hand can be equipped with guns or melee weapons, while the shoulder are typically for heavier weapons such as missile lauchers, grenade lauchers or cannons. However, most of the time players won't be able to fill all four slots due to limitation of weight. Other than more practical customization, the players can also choose the colors of their wanzers. However, this feature is purely aesthetic except in Front Mission Alternative. For example, coloring the wanzers black won't make them harder to hit at night. Wanzers can be improved to have higher HP and equipped with more powerful weapons as the game progresses. However, there are two main ways of improving the wanzers: purchasing and remodelling. The former involves buying latest parts and weapons from the wanzer shops and is used in Front Mission First, Front Mission 2 and Front Mission 4. The latter involves remodelling the older parts the wanzers already have, and is extensively used in Front Mission 3 (known as "upgrade" in this installment) and Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. In Front Mission 3, the game introduced another new part: pilot. Like all other parts, the pilot has its own HP bar. Upon destruction, the wanzer will stop functioning. Unlike the situation in which the body is destroyed, if an enemy's pilot is killed, the player could acquire his or her wanzer. The pilot can be damaged in the cockpit or be ejected. This feature is removed later in Front Mission 4. Trivia *Almost all playable characters in Front Mission piloted wanzers. *Legs is the only part that had never been seen equipped with weapons. *Unlike most other giant mechs, wanzers resemble machines much more than human. *It is likely that wanzers are made into toys in the Front Mission Universe. This is reflected in the ending credit of Front Mission 3, which included a picture depicting a child holding a mini-wanzer. *As mentioned in Front Mission 4 novel "Elsa", piloting a wanzer seems to be a very stressful experience for some people, primarily because of the dim and enclosed environment of the cockpit. In the novel, it was said that one pilot even jumped out of the cockpit and vowed that he will never enter it again. *Although wanzers are assumed to be designed for uses on land, they are probably able to move under water, at least for a brief period of time. In Front Mission 3, when Rosavia Gray led her troops to an ambush in the Misumi harbor, she and her subordinates were seen surfacing from the sea in their wanzers. There have also been an instance in Front Mission First in which some enemy units were seen surfacing from beneath the sand in their wanzers. Whether these are general functions or specific to certain wanzer models are currently unknown. *